How to Maintain a Healthy Weight Into the New Year

Yass, Christmas is here again! We all know it’s that special time of the year to celebrate life, family and everything in between. For team #FitFam though, it’s also the season to exercise self-control like never before, especially with all the sumptuous meals testing your willpower at every turn.

Nobody likes entering the New Year with even more weight to lose but we understand how the season is so we’ll be realistic enough to say that weight loss during Christmasseems like a tall order. We want you to enjoy the season as much as the season but self-control is still the sumptuous.

To help, we have listed a few food items you should avoid or consume at the barest minimum, along with healthy suggestions to try instead. We’ve also added a few fitnesstips because watching your diet won’t be enough. After all, we want to see you strutting into 2019 with a fit mind, heart and waistline. And we’re sure you do too.

So, here’s what
you need to do:

1. Avoid Fried chicken, fish or meat

We won’t deny that these taste great and seem like the perfect accessory to a nice plate of Jollof or fried rice, but its high level of saturated fats cannot – and should not – be ignored. Go for grilled meat instead.

2. Go easy on the ice cream and cake…

This is hard to
avoid for pastry lovers but we can’t deny the high sugar content. It’s best to
keep your indulgence at the barest minimum. You could make a commitment to put
in some extra exercise whenever you have some, your waistline will thank you.
As an alternative, you could Treat the family to frozen yoghurt instead. It
tastes just as good, with less sugar to worry about.

3. …and the processed or fried snacks too.

According to 9jafoodie, the average Naija snack contains approximately 225 calories. From your fried chin chin to your darling small chops, leaving less to be desired for a person interested in weight loss. If you must indulge, make sure it’sonce in a while.

4. Slow down on carbonated drinks

It’s not just
our darling ‘minerals’, cocktails are also a culprit because they have even
more calories than the average carbonated drink. A healthier beverage choice is
a nice glass of fruit juice.

5. Stay hydrated.

Your brain can sometimes confuse thirst with hunger. A large glass of water before a meal can help lessen the amount of food you consume. Drink six to eight glasses of water per day, and be sure to have two big glasses of water before the big,calorie-rich meals.

However, we understand that cutting some foods off your diet alone won’t get you the required weight results in time because exercise is also needed. Here are a fewtips on how to keep your fitness goals on track this season

Figure out what derails
your plans.

Before we even
get into the Christmas frenzy, try to figure out what triggers cause you to
skip a workout. Once you know those roadblocks, you can come up with a plan to
avoid those roadblocks or minimise those triggers.

Exercise in the morning.

From experience, the day gets filled up with a lot of stuff and if you have gym time planned for the evening, you might end up missing it. Set your alarm for 45 minutes earlier than you get out of bed. You can also download a fitness app that can help you go through your routines at home.

Track your steps.

If anything, a key benefit of this is that it helps you set a goal for how much you move/walkin a day. You’ll walk more and be proud of your achievements at the end of theday.

Prioritise sleep.

Forget what anyone else told you, sleep is for the woke. When you don’t get adequate sleep, your workout is one of the first things to go. Try setting a sleep schedule and stick to it.

Ditch long workouts.

Seems counterproductive, right? Not exactly, considering the demands of the season. We want you to have as much fun as possible so we recommend short, high-intensity workouts two or three days a week. Carve out 20-30 minutes and alternate between cardio and bodyweight exercises. Also, choose workouts thatmove as many body parts and muscle groups as possible.

Remember, the holiday is a really brief season that can have long-term effects on your health. By all means, enjoy it to the fullest but don’t let it go from a few days of indulgence to a month of indulgence that leads to unwanted habits that continue beyond the holiday season.

Dr Kazeem Akano

Dr Kazeem Akano manages Client Quality Assurance and Provider Education & Engagement at Avon HMO. He studied medicine at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomosho and has been working in health insurance for over 5 years.
Dr Akano is also responsible for case management where a key focus area is the management of enrollees with chronic conditions.